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One of a series of 12 herm portrait busts of Scottish poets, sited along the pathway at regular intervals on both banks. Each plinth has two information boards attached, one a short biography of the poet and the second an example of their work. This project celebrates great poets and their poetry and provides a series of commissions for Scottish sculptors. The project added four herms per year over three years.

Title

Norman MacCaig (1910–1996)

Date

2003–2004

Medium

bronze & concrete

Measurements

H 150 x W 30 x D 32 cm (E)

Accession number

EH12_GB_S005

Acquisition method

New Edinburgh Limited

Work type

Bust

Owner

Edinburgh Park

Custodian

Edinburgh Park

Work status

extant

Access

at all times

Inscription description

Norman MacCaig / Born in Edinburgh, Norman MacCaig (1910-1996) studied classics at the / University of Edinburgh and was a schoolteacher for much of his life. He was a / prolific writer of poetry marked by / elegance, wit and sharp insight. / The landscapes of his work - also the / settings for his distinctive character studies / are those of Edinburgh and of Assynt in / the Highlands, where he spent his summers. / The 'unemphatic marvels' of the natural / world were a particular province, and its / small inhabitants features in some of his / most admired poems. / Everything was seen afresh, and the poet / was openly conscious of his act of seeing, / of his search to find language adequate to / his perceptions. His range of subjects and / laconic yet benign presentation drew / crowds to his readings, finding him an / audience even among those resistant to / poetry. / This 'Zen Calvinist', as he described / himself, was one of Scotland's finest / twentieth-century writers. / Sculptor / David Annand

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